The Chelsea Traffic and Parking Commission on Jan. 6 approved installation of electric vehicle charging stations at four city locations, endorsing a configuration staff said meets the grant requirements and local parking needs.

The commission voted to place four charger stalls at Highland and two charger stalls at each of Crescent Avenue, Cabbage Street and Washington Avenue, with a 12-hour EV-only parking window from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Staff said the grant requires a minimum 12-hour charger availability.

Steve Conte, a representative of Commonwealth Electrical Technologies, said outreach for the Mass Clean Energy Center grant had produced about 30 survey responses and that the vendor had not conducted additional public engagement since its summer survey. "We have not done any additional community outreach or engagement activities since the survey and other outreach was concluded over the summer," Conte said.

On pricing, Conte described common municipal approaches: "You can make it free for everybody, but most municipalities charge, you know, a modest fee per kilowatt hour of charge to kind of recoup some of the cost of electricity." Staff noted an initial free period on other chargers later switched to a paid model after operating costs rose.

Commission members discussed resident access and overnight charging, and staff said enforcement and idle-time fees could be set by the departments that will manage the chargers. Staff also said the project team will revisit the number of stalls at each location if feasibility or budget allows.

The motion to approve the installation plan passed by voice vote. The decision follows the commission’s earlier discussions about balancing charger availability with neighborhood parking needs and the constraints of grant timing.